Bhishma, the noblest of the Kuru clan
by
Janani Anbazhagan & Suraj Manikandan (Section 1)
In the last Balavihar class, we
learned about the Shat Ripus (6 enemies):
·
Kaama
(lust, desire) · Krodha (anger, rage)
· Moha (delusion)
· Lobha (greed)
· Mada (pride, arrogance)
· Maatsarya (jealousy)
With the story of King Shantanu, we were taught how kaama
could bring about one’s downfall. His
intense desire for Ganga blinded him to agree to her conditions which led to
the loss of seven of their children. When
Ganga took their eighth baby away, Shantanu became an ascetic but continued to rule
the kingdom. Twelve years later, when
King Shantanu was taking a stroll along the banks of the Ganga River one day,
he noticed that its level was lower than usual.
As he walked upstream, he noticed a handsome boy building a dam across
the river by shooting arrows. Ganga appeared and told him that the boy was none
other than Devavrata, their eighth son. King Shantanu, who was much rejoiced to
have been reunited with his son, made him the Crown Prince of Hastinapura.
Some years later, King Shantanu met Satyavati, the beautiful
daughter of Matsya Raja (King of fishermen). Shantanu’s desire immediately took
over and he sought Matsya Raja’s permission to marry his daughter. Matsya Raja would give his consent only if Satyavati’s
son, instead of Devavrata, would become the heir to the throne. Not willing to agree to this condition, Shantanu
went into deep depression due to his continued desire for Satyavati. After making some inquiries, Devavrata realized
what happened and went to meet Matsya Raja.
There he vowed that he would not seek the throne so that Satyavati’s son
could become the next emperor of Hastinapura. But Matsya Raja wanted further
assurance that Devavrata’s children would not stake a claim for the throne. Devavrata immediately swore that he would not
only never marry but also would forever serve the descendents of Shantanu and Satyavati.
The gods, who were awestruck by his selfless devotion to his father, showered
him with flowers, and called him ‘Bhishma’, i.e. one who has taken very strict and
stringent vows. Pleased with his son’s intense
love and devotion, King Shantanu gave him the boon that Bhishma could select
the time of his own death.
With the above story, we learned how King Shantanu’s kaama (lust) and Matsya Raja’s lobha (greed) led to grief and
injustice, and at the same time the great parental devotion shown by Devavrata brought
him praise and boons.
Shantanu married Satyavati, and they had two sons: Chitrangada
and Vichitravirya. When Shantanu died soon after, young Chitrangada was crowned
as the king, but Bhishma actually took care of the kingdom as the King’s advisor.
Chitrangada, with too much mada
(arrogance), challenged a gandharva and was
killed in the duel. Vichitravirya, even
though still a boy, was crowned as the new king.
In class we also performed a group activity
called the ‘Cause and Effect’ in which each group was given an episode from the
list below and the group had to present the cause, effect, and lessons learned
for that episode.
-
King Shantanu agreed to Ganga’s conditions: (i) he should not ask who she is or where she came from, (ii) he should not object to any of her actions, and (iii) he should not be angry or unkind to her.
- To King Shantanu’s request for marrying Satyavati, Matsya Raja demanded that his grandchild should become the heir to Hastinapura.
- Devavrata vowed that he would give up his claim to the throne and remain unmarried for the rest of his life.
- King Chitrangada challenged a Gandharva for a duel.
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